Stop Passing Old Musty Cheese

“We are the subjects of an experiment which is not a little interesting to me. Can we not do without the society of our gossips a little while under these circumstances, – have our own thoughts to cheer us?”

“Society is commonly too cheap. We meet at very short intervals, not having had time to acquire any new value for each other. We meet at meals three times a day, and give each other a new taste of that old musty cheese that we are. We have had to agree on a certain set of rules, called etiquette and politeness, to make this frequent meeting tolerable and that we need not come to open war. … Certainly less frequency would suffice for all important and hearty communications….”

After reading the chapter titled Solitude in Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, it got me thinking. When will we start having more meaningful conversations with those important people in our lives? Are we going to go back to calling people over simply sending texts? Has this “social distancing” taught us anything? Are we able to sit alone with our own thoughts and be OK with them? Are we just passing the old musty cheese along with each piece of gossip or news we pass? Have we lost the art of communicating? Have we just stopped caring?

If you find yourself with some free time, consider picking up Henry David Thoreau’s Walden. It has been very insightful and thought provoking.